. >> reporter: erin knows what he knows, that this heartbeat can never be taken for granted because it has made possible a very special kind of love. >> i never thought i could be so much in love with another person. >> i didn't have any words to describe it. it was just this, you know, connection. >> reporter: at 17 connor rabinowitz had been a star catcher being recruited by division 1 schools. his life changed in 2005 when they told him that he needed a new heart, that if he didn't get one he would die. kellen roberts was a seattle kid, very alive, generous to a fault. a free spirit, whimsical and spontaneous, drove his red truck all over the country, lived life on his terms. >> he traveled all over the world. he traveled the united states. he jammed in as much as he could and you know what, it left a much better legacy for us. >> reporter: march 7th, 2005 on a trip to sioux falls, south dakota, kellen hit his head in a freak accident. he died there far from home, but not far from minneapolis. he was an organ donor. >> scared. we drive to the hospital and they were going to cut me o